Closing summary
It’s coming up to 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Friday he was “confident” that Ukraine was prepared to retake more territory as Kyiv readies for a new offensive against invading Russian forces. AFP reports that Stoltenberg told journalists in Germany when asked if Ukraine has what it needs to successfully execute the offensive: “I’m confident that they will now be in a position to be able to liberate even more land. One of the main issues here today has been to go through all the different capabilities, systems, supplies that the Ukrainians need to be able to retake more land.”
Germany, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement on Friday for a hub to repair Leopard tanks used in Ukraine to fight Russian forces, Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said at a meeting of allies at the Ramstein airbase. However, he sounded a note of caution about any early invite for Ukraine to join Nato. All parties agreed on how to finance such a hub, which will cost €150m-200m (£133m-178m) a year and could begin operations at the end of May, Pistorius told reporters.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has tweeted again about the meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Ramstein, Germany, saying that Ukraine is “de facto, already a part of the alliance’s security space” having reached “unprecedented levels of interoperability”.
International backing for Ukraine holds “strong and true”, the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said on Sunday, as he opened a meeting in Germany with allies to discuss further support for Kyiv. On the eve of the talks gathering representatives from 50 countries, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had urged western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops. AFP reports that Austin said: “Our support for the forces of freedom in Ukraine holds strong and true. At today’s contact group meeting, we’ll focus on three key issues – air defence, ammunition and enablers.”
A Moscow court today issued a warrant for the arrest of the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, accusing the spy chief of organising “terrorist attacks” inside Russia, the state-owned news agency RIA reported. Reuters reports that the RIA cited the court as saying that Budanov was accused of offences related to terrorism and arms smuggling. The move against him was announced “in absentia”, in an apparent acknowledgement that Budanov cannot be immediately detained.
The Canadian government on Friday announced C$39m (£23.26m) in new military assistance for Ukraine that will include 40 sniper rifles, 16 radio sets and a donation to a Nato fund to help Kyiv in its war against Russia, Reuters reports. The latest round of Canadian aid, which also includes ammunition for the rifles, was announced by defence minister Anita Anand at the Ramstein airbase in Germany, where Nato defence officials are meeting to discuss new military supplies for Ukraine. The rifles and ammunition will be sourced from Canada-based Prairie Gun Works, while the radios will be from L3Harris Technologies, according to a statement from the Canadian defence ministry. The contribution to the Nato fund, of about C$34.6m will help to provide Ukraine with fuel supplies and other assets.
The UK on Friday imposed sanctions on five people linked to the arrest of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years this week. Elena Lenskaya – a judge who approved Kara-Murza’s arrest, along with Denis Kolesnikov and Andrei Zadachin – investigators involved in the arrest of Kara-Murza, will all be hit with sanctions. FSB agents Alexander Samofal and Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who followed Kara-Murza on multiple trips before he was poisoned in 2015, will also be receive sanctions.
A Russian warplane has accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, the Tass news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying. Late on Thursday, local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said two women had been injured and four apartment buildings and four cars damaged. Announcing a state of emergency, he said on the Telegram messaging app there was a “huge” crater 20 metres (65ft) wide in the city centre.
Reuters reports that the Ukrainian activist Oleksandra Romantsova this week suggested to South African officials that it would be better for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to dial in to this year’s Brics summit in South Africa rather than attend in person. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin last month, and South Africa as an ICC member would be required to detain Putin if he attends the 15th Brics summit that South Africa will host in August.
Secretary general of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, on Friday reaffirmed Nato’s commitment that Ukraine would eventually join the military alliance. Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group at Ramstein airbase in Germany, Reuters reports he also told the media that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Kyiv must have “the deterrence to prevent new attacks”.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, posted that he had a “fruitful” bilateral meeting with his US counterpart at Ramstein airbase in Germany on Friday morning.
Ukraine’s future lies in Nato, Stoltenberg had said on Thursday during his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion 14 months ago. Nato’s chief pledged continued military support for Ukraine, saying: “Nato stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.” He invited the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to the Nato summit in Vilnius in July.
Zelenskiy said Nato needed to invite Ukraine to become a member and give it a timeframe for accession. “There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance,” he said. “And now, when most people in Nato countries and the majority of Ukrainians support Nato accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions.”
Ukraine’s air defence has claimed to have downed eight Iranian-manufactured “Shahed” drones overnight.
The first trucks carrying Ukrainian food products including corn and eggs were bound to start transit via Poland to the Netherlands on Friday morning, a Polish customs official said, as rules allowing the shipments took effect overnight.
The G7 is considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing Japanese government sources.
Updated
Reuters reports that Ukrainian activist Oleksandra Romantsova this week suggested to South African officials that it would be better for Russian President Vladimir Putin to dial in to this year’s BRICS summit in South Africa rather than attend in person.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin last month, and South Africa as an ICC member would be required to detain Putin if he attends the 15th BRICS Summit that South Africa will host in August.
The BRICS group comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a bloc seen as a powerful emerging-market alternative to the West.
Romantsova told Reuters in an interview at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where she was participating in a seminar:
If Putin comes here ... they (South Africa) need to arrest him. It’s a complicated political situation. So better that Putin join via Zoom.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said this week that his government was still deliberating what to do about the warrant for Putin.
Three officials with knowledge of those deliberations have told Reuters that Putin attending the BRICS summit virtually was an option that was being considered.
Updated
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell updated Ukraine allies on the support provided by the economic bloc at the meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Friday.
He tweeted:
At #Ukraine Defence Contact Group, I updated on EU military support. Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers already trained.
Over €600 million of ammunition&missiles already delivered. Work on joint procurement ongoing. EU continues to work with partners to ensure Ukraine prevails.
At #Ukraine Defence Contact Group, I updated on EU military support.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 21, 2023
Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers already trained.
Over €600 million of ammunition&missiles already delivered.
Work on joint procurement ongoing.
EU continues to work with partners to ensure Ukraine prevails.
Jens Stoltenberg has said all Nato member countries have agreed Ukraine will eventually join the transatlantic military alliance once the war is over.
‘All Nato allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member,’ Nato’s secretary general told journalists before a meeting of defence ministers to discuss further military aid for Ukraine.
Nato membership, which requires all member countries to protect each other if attacked, has long been an aim for Kyiv.
Although Nato agreed in principle in 2008 that Ukraine could be allowed to join, the country has never been given a formal pathway to membership.
Dan Sabbagh, our defence and security editor, is reporting comments from US defence secretary Lloyd Austin at a press conference, just after the meeting of defence leaders from around Europe and the world at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Ukraine's most urgent needs is air defence systems says Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, effectively confirming the leaked Pentagon slide warning that Kyiv will run out of S-300 missiles is about right...
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) April 21, 2023
Milley, chair of the joint chiefs agrees: "most important thing right now" is to make air defence system "robust, it's rigorous" and "llayered from high altitude to mid altitude, altitude and from short range, mid range to long range"
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) April 21, 2023
...Austin also confirms that US is helping train 9 Ukranian "Storm" brigades for the counteroffensive (per the leak) + even starts to put a size on them, saying US has already trained 9,000 with another 2,500 going through training now
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) April 21, 2023
Summary of the day so far...
It is just past 6pm in Kyiv. Here is what you might have missed:
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday he is “confident” that Ukraine is prepared to retake more territory as Kyiv readies for a new offensive against invading Russian forces. AFP reports that Stoltenberg told journalists in Germany when asked if Ukraine has what it needs to successfully execute the offensive: “I’m confident that they will now be in a position to be able to liberate even more land. One of the main issues here today has been to go through all the different capabilities, systems, supplies that the Ukrainians need to be able to retake more land.”
Germany, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement on Friday for a hub to repair Leopard tanks used in Ukraine to fight Russian forces, Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said at a meeting of allies at the Ramstein airbase. However, he sounded a note of caution about any early invite for Ukraine to join Nato. All parties agreed on how to finance such a hub, which will cost €150-200m a year and could begin operations at the end of May, Pistorius told reporters.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has tweeted again about the meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Ramstein, Germany, saying that Ukraine is “de facto, already a part of the Alliance’s security space” having reached “unprecedented levels of interoperability”.
International backing for Ukraine holds “strong and true”, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said today, as he opened a meeting in Germany with allies to discuss further support for Kyiv. On the eve of the talks gathering representatives from 50 countries, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had urged western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops. AFP reports that Austin said: “Our support for the forces of freedom in Ukraine holds strong and true. At today’s contact group meeting, we’ll focus on three key issues – air defence, ammunition and enablers.”
A Moscow court today issued a warrant for the arrest of the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, accusing the spy chief of organising “terrorist attacks” inside Russia, state-owned news agency RIA reported. Reuters reports that the RIA cited the court as saying that Budanov was accused of offences related to terrorism and arms smuggling. The move against him was announced “in absentia”, in an apparent acknowledgement that Budanov cannot be immediately detained.
The Canadian government on Friday announced C$39 million (£23.26 million) in new military assistance for Ukraine that will include 40 sniper rifles, 16 radio sets and a donation to a Nato fund to help Kyiv in its war against Russia, Reuters reports. The latest round of Canadian aid, which also includes ammunition for the rifles, was announced by defence minister Anita Anand at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where Nato defence officials are meeting to discuss new military supplies for Ukraine. The rifles and ammunition will be sourced from Canada-based Prairie Gun Works, while the radios will be from L3Harris Technologies, according to a statement from the Canadian defence ministry. The contribution to the Nato fund, of about C$34.6 million (£20.6 million), will help to provide Ukraine with fuel supplies and other assets.
The UK on Friday imposed sanctions on five people linked to the arrest of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years this week. Elena Lenskaya – a judge who approved Kara-Murza’s arrest, along with Denis Kolesnikov and Andrei Zadachin – investigators involved in the arrest of Kara-Murza, will all be hit with sanctions. FSB agents Alexander Samofal and Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who followed Kara-Murza on multiple trips before he was poisoned in 2015, will also be receive sanctions.
A Russian warplane has accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, the Tass news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying. Late on Thursday, local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said two women had been injured and four apartment buildings and four cars damaged. Announcing a state of emergency, he said on the Telegram messaging app there was a “huge” crater 20 metres (65ft) wide in the city centre.
Secretary general of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, on Friday reaffirmed Nato’s committment that Ukraine would eventually join the military alliance. Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group at Ramstein airbase in Germany, Reuters reports he also told the media that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Kyiv must have “the deterrence to prevent new attacks”.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, posted that he had a “fruitful” bilateral meeting with his US counterpart at Ramstein airbase in Germany on Friday morning.
Ukraine’s future lies in Nato, Stoltenberg had said on Thursday during his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion 14 months ago. Nato’s chief pledged continued military support for Ukraine, saying: “Nato stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.” He invited the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to the Nato summit in Vilnius in July.
Zelenskiy said Nato needed to invite Ukraine to become a member and give it a timeframe for accession. “There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance,” he said. “And now, when most people in Nato countries and the majority of Ukrainians support Nato accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions.”
Ukraine’s air defence has claimed to have downed eight Iranian-manufactured “Shahed” drones overnight.
The first trucks carrying Ukrainian food products including corn and eggs were bound to start transit via Poland to the Netherlands on Friday morning, a Polish customs official said, as rules allowing the shipments took effect overnight.
The G7 is considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing Japanese government sources.
Nato 'confident' Ukraine prepared to retake territory in fresh offensive
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today he is “confident” that Ukraine is prepared to retake more territory as Kyiv readies for a new offensive against invading Russian forces.
AFP reports that Stoltenberg told journalists in Germany when asked if Ukraine has what it needs to successfully execute the offensive:
I’m confident that they will now be in a position to be able to liberate even more land.
One of the main issues here today has been to go through all the different capabilities, systems, supplies that the Ukrainians need to be able to retake more land.
Stoltenberg was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of dozens of Kyiv’s international supporters at the Ramstein air base, in Germany.
The Nato chief added that multiple Patriot air defence batteries had been delivered to Ukraine.
He said:
Germany and the US have now delivered Patriot batteries, which are operational in Ukraine.
Reuters reports that the state news agency TASS quoted the Russian embassy in London as saying the sanctions imposed from the UK on five people linked to the arrest of Vladimir Kara-Murza were a hostile and unjustified step.
In a post at 11.32 BST, we wrote that Elena Lenskaya – a judge who approved Kara-Murza’s arrest, along with Denis Kolesnikov and Andrei Zadachin – investigators involved in the arrest of Kara-Murza, will all be hit with sanctions.
FSB agents Alexander Samofal and Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who followed Kara-Murza on multiple trips before he was poisoned in 2015, will also be receive sanctions.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Putin’s Security Council, said Russia could not care less about decisions by Britain.
He wrote on Telegram:
Britain was, is and will be our eternal enemy. At least until their impudent and disgustingly damp island disappears into the abyss of the sea from the wave created by the latest Russian weapons system.
Updated
Germany, Poland and Ukraine sign deal over Leopard tank repairs
Germany, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement on Friday for a hub to repair Leopard tanks used in Ukraine to fight Russian forces, Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said at a meeting of allies at the Ramstein airbase. However, he sounded a note of caution about any early invite for Ukraine to join Nato.
All parties agreed on how to finance such a hub, which will cost €150-200m a year and could begin operations at the end of May, Pistorius told reporters.
Reuters reports that asked about Ukraine’s prospects to join the Nato alliance, Pistorius said all members agreed that they saw Ukraine as a future member but said “first things first”, the focus now had to be on supporting Ukraine on the battlefield.
Updated
Defence minister Reznikov: Ukraine is 'de facto already part of Nato's security space'
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has tweeted again about the meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Ramstein, Germany, saying that Ukraine is “de facto, already a part of the Alliance’s security space” having reached “unprecedented levels of interoperability”.
He posted:
Excellent discussion with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. I expressed my gratitude to him for coordinating the Alliance’s assistance to Ukraine.
On the eve of the Vilnius summit, a number of concrete projects were discussed.
I’m happy to have a green light for our close cooperation with NSPA, Nato’s procurement agency. This will include the National Procurement Review and best-in-the-league advice to the armed forces of Ukraine. We need excellent defence procurement both to win the war and to be efficient in the future.
Ukraine has reached unprecedented levels of interoperability with Nato. We are, de facto, already a part of the Alliance’s security space. I expressed my hope that this would expedite political decisions regarding our country’s Nato integration.
Excellent discussion with NATO Secretary General @jensstoltenberg
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) April 21, 2023
I expressed my gratitude to him for coordinating the Alliance's assistance to Ukraine.
On the eve of the Vilnius summit, a number of concrete projects were discussed.
I’m happy to have a green light for our close… pic.twitter.com/jcmndb8FOo
Updated
Here is the video clip of Nato’s Jens Stoltenberg earlier saying that all members of the alliance had agreed that Ukraine should join.
Jennifer Rankin reports for the Guardian from Brussels:
EU countries are haggling over how to fulfil a promise to supply Ukraine with ammunition, following criticism from Kyiv that delays were costing lives. France, backed by Greece and Cyprus, is pressing to ensure that an EU plan to purchase €1bn (£880m / $1.1bn) of ammunition for Ukraine is fulfilled via a fully-EU supply chain.
On Thursday Ukraine’s government criticised the EU over its “inability” to fulfil a promise to supply desperately needed ammunition. Sounding a rare note of irritation against the bloc, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said the EU’s inability to implement its own decision was frustrating. “For Ukraine, the cost of inaction is measured in human lives,” he tweeted.
EU ministers agreed last month to supply Ukraine with €2bn of ammunition to replace dwindling stocks. The EU is spending €1bn to reimburse member states for sending ammunition from their supplies, a process that is under way. It has also pledged to jointly purchase a further €1bn of shells for Ukraine from arms manufacturers in the EU and Norway. But translating that political agreement into a legally binding text has hit a snag. Paris insists that all components of the 155mm shells should come from EU suppliers, which is a problem for EU companies that use non-EU suppliers.
One senior EU diplomat said most member states were ready to support the current text, barring a few, which was stalling an agreement. “And that’s disappointing. Because again, time matters here, and we should all be focused on helping Ukraine and all the rest is secondary.”
In a possible reproach to Paris, Kuleba said the ammunition decision was “a test of whether the EU has strategic autonomy in making new crucial security decisions”, deploying French president Emmanuel Macron’s favoured phrase for Europe’s freedom from dangerous dependencies in defence and industrial policy.
With EU foreign affairs ministers due to meet on Monday, officials voiced confidence the spat could be quickly resolved. “It is our impression that a solution is near,” said one senior official.
Updated
Ukraine allies pledge 'strong and true' support
International backing for Ukraine holds “strong and true”, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said today, as he opened a meeting in Germany with allies to discuss further support for Kyiv.
On the eve of the talks gathering representatives from 50 countries, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had urged western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops.
AFP reports that Austin said:
Our support for the forces of freedom in Ukraine holds strong and true.
“At today’s contact group meeting, we’ll focus on three key issues – air defence, ammunition and enablers.
Zelenskiy had asked for Nato’s help to “overcome the reluctance” of some member states in providing long-range rockets, modern fighter jets and armoured vehicles, putting his request directly to the alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, who on Thursday made his first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion last year.
At Ramstein airbase in Germany, Stoltenberg acknowledged the need to discuss “new platforms” of support with the battle now in its second year. But he also underlined the need to ensure that already supplied weapons continued to work.
The Ramstein gathering drew anger from Moscow, with the Russian foreign ministry saying the allies’ action for Ukraine “confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and participation in the planning of military operations”.
Updated
Moscow court issues warrant for Ukrainian military intelligence chief
A Moscow court today issued a warrant for the arrest of the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, accusing the spy chief of organising “terrorist attacks” inside Russia, state-owned news agency RIA reported.
Reuters reports that the RIA cited the court as saying that Budanov was accused of offences related to terrorism and arms smuggling.
The move against him was announced “in absentia”, in an apparent acknowledgement that Budanov cannot be immediately detained.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine last year, a number of explosions have hit Russian infrastructure, arms dumps and military facilities.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for many of the strikes, while Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) previously named Budanov as the organiser of an explosion that damaged the bridge linking Russia to the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in October.
Updated
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has posted a tweet of the latest map showing the situation in Ukraine.
The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 21, 2023
The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 21 April 2023.
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/mMGANFmbpu
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/rbA8YEmpZc
Updated
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said all member countries have agreed that Ukraine will eventually join the transatlantic military alliance once the war is over, ahead of a meeting of western defence ministers discussing further military aid for Kyiv.
Further announcements on weapons and support are expected after the summit at the Ramstein airbase in Germany, but Stoltenberg also sounded notably upbeat about Ukraine’s longer-term prospects for joining Nato.
“All Nato allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member,” he said. “President Zelenskiy has a very clear expectation, we discussed this.
“Both the issue of membership but also security guarantees, and of course Ukraine needs security. Because no one can tell when and how this war ends. But what we do know is that when the war ends, we need to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.”
Read more: All Nato members have agreed Ukraine will eventually join, says Stoltenberg
The Canadian government on Friday announced C$39 million (£23.26 million) in new military assistance for Ukraine that will include 40 sniper rifles, 16 radio sets and a donation to a Nato fund to help Kyiv in its war against Russia, Reuters reports.
The latest round of Canadian aid, which also includes ammunition for the rifles, was announced by defence minister Anita Anand at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where Nato defence officials are meeting to discuss new military supplies for Ukraine.
The rifles and ammunition will be sourced from Canada-based Prairie Gun Works, while the radios will be from L3Harris Technologies, according to a statement from the Canadian defence ministry.
The contribution to the Nato fund, of about C$34.6 million (£20.6 million), will help to provide Ukraine with fuel supplies and other assets.
Anand said:
The donations and support announced by Canada today will help ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
Updated
The UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Friday in its daily intelligence update of the war that “severe mud” across most of Ukraine will probably slow operations for both sides in the conflict.
However, Russian online news outlets are likely to be exaggerating the impact of conditions on Ukrainian forces in order to boost morale in their own ranks, the update said.
The intelligence update added that conditions were expected to improve in the coming weeks and that the threat from mines “probably continues to be a more important factor in limiting the combatants’ off-road manoeuvre”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 21 April 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 21, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/7roj2tSGqf
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/3DOdWH0iG8
Updated
The UK has today imposed sanctions on five people linked to the arrest of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years this week.
Elena Lenskaya – a judge who approved Kara-Murza’s arrest, along with Denis Kolesnikov and Andrei Zadachin – investigators involved in the arrest of Kara-Murza, will all be hit with sanctions.
FSB agents Alexander Samofal and Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who followed Kara-Murza on multiple trips before he was poisoned in 2015, will also be receive sanctions.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly said:
Russia’s treatment and conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza once again demonstrates its utter contempt for basic human rights.
Today five individuals connected to his case have been sanctioned, sending a clear message that the UK will not stand for this treatment of one of its citizens.
The UK will continue to support Mr Kara-Murza and his family. I call on Russia to release him immediately and unconditionally.
Our Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer has details below of the dissident’s imprisonment earlier this week:
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
A Russian warplane has accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, the Tass news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying. Late on Thursday, local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said two women had been injured and four apartment buildings and four cars damaged. Announcing a state of emergency, he said on the Telegram messaging app there was a “huge” crater 20 metres (65ft) wide in the city centre.
Secretary general of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, on Friday reaffirmed Nato’s committment that Ukraine would eventually join the military alliance. Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group at Ramstein airbase in Germany, Reuters reports he also told the media that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Kyiv must have “the deterrence to prevent new attacks”.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, posted that he had a “fruitful” bilateral meeting with his US counterpart at Ramstein airbase in Germany on Friday morning.
Ukraine’s future lies in Nato, Stoltenberg had said on Thursday during his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion 14 months ago. Nato’s chief pledged continued military support for Ukraine, saying: “Nato stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.” He invited the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to the Nato summit in Vilnius in July.
Zelenskiy said Nato needed to invite Ukraine to become a member and give it a timeframe for accession. “There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance,” he said. “And now, when most people in Nato countries and the majority of Ukrainians support Nato accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions.”
Ukraine’s air defence has claimed to have downed eight Iranian-manufactured “Shahed” drones overnight.
The first trucks carrying Ukrainian food products including corn and eggs were bound to start transit via Poland to the Netherlands on Friday morning, a Polish customs official said, as rules allowing the shipments took effect overnight.
The G7 is considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing Japanese government sources.
Updated
Here is our video report on a Russian warplane accidentally fired a weapon into the Russian city of Belgorod, causing an explosion and damaging buildings.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has today said that Russian troops in Ukraine are fighting “for the future of our country”, and urged Russians to put aside internal divisions.
Tass reports that the leader of Russia’s Orthodox church, who has been vocal in his support for the invasion of Ukraine, said: “We really need to be united today … hostility towards each other is like treason to the Motherland.”
He urged Russians to work together so that “then we will have the power that those who dream of the ruin of the Russian land will be afraid of”, and said that “defence of the Motherland” is “the greatest duty and sacred deed” for every person.
Updated
Adm Viktor Liina, who served as commander of the Baltic fleet of the Russian navy, has been appointed commander of the Pacific fleet, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass.
He replaces Adm Sergei Avakyants, who stepped down earlier this week immediately after the navy had conducted a series of drills in a surprise inspection.
Updated
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has posted that he had a “fruitful” bilateral meeting with his US counterpart at Ramstein airbase in Germany this morning, tweeting:
We had a fruitful bilateral meeting with our American counterparts. It was a candid conversation in a common language. I am grateful to Ukraine’s great friends, Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, for their leadership in bolstering the anti-Kremlin coalition. We are efficiently and transparently leveraging the assistance that has been provided by the American people. The enemy will feel the consequences of our agreements.
We had a fruitful bilateral meeting with our American counterparts. It was a candid conversation in a common language. I am grateful to Ukraine's great friends, @SecDef Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, for their leadership in bolstering the anti-Kremlin coalition. We are efficiently… pic.twitter.com/wlXLVWhXc1
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) April 21, 2023
Updated
The first trucks carrying Ukrainian food products including corn and eggs were bound to start transit via Poland to the Netherlands on Friday morning, Reuters reports a Polish customs official said, as rules allowing the shipments took effect overnight.
The rules brought an end to a ban that was introduced without notice on 15 April leaving many companies with goods stranded across the border in Ukraine.
Here are a couple of images from the gathering at Ramstein airbase in Germany this morning, where defence ministers from Ukraine’s allies are meeting.
Earlier, Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted:
Today, we mark the one-year anniversary of this format. On the agenda are an analysis of what’s been done, our strategy for 2023, current needs of the armed forces, and the distribution of assistance programmes to all divisions of Ukraine’s defence forces. We feel the support of our partners, and we continue to strive for victory.
#Ramstein begins. Today, we mark the one-year anniversary of this format. On the agenda are an analysis of what’s been done, our strategy for 2023, current needs of the Armed Forces, and the distribution of assistance programs to all divisions of Ukraine's Defense Forces. We feel… pic.twitter.com/EPkoieG7Dy
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) April 21, 2023
Reuters reports the lower house of parliament in the Czech Republic passed legislation on Friday requiring the state budget to devote at least 2% of gross domestic product to defence, starting next year.
Romania will not unilaterally ban the import of Ukrainian grains and will wait for the European Commission to enforce measures to help central and eastern European farmers, agriculture minister Petre Daea said on Friday.
However, Romania and Ukraine will consult weekly on expected grain volumes, seeking to limit imports, Reuters reports Daea said after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Solskyi, in Bucharest.
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Christopher Miller of the FT writes on Twitter that Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office has confirmed to him that Ukraine’s president will attend the Nato summit in Vilnius in July – pending developments on the ground in Ukraine.
President Zelensky's office confirms to me this morning that he accepted Stoltenberg's invitation to the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. But: "Final decision will depend on the situation on the ground at that point." https://t.co/qfLupLMzdS
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 21, 2023
Nato's Stoltenberg reaffirms Ukraine to eventually join alliance
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, on Friday reaffirmed Nato’s committment that Ukraine would eventually join the military alliance.
Speaking before a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group at Ramstein airbase in Germany, Reuters reports he also told the media that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Kyiv must have “the deterrence to prevent new attacks”.
Earlier this week, in an appearance in Kyiv alongside Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Stoltenberg invited Ukraine’s president to the next Nato summit in Vilnius.
In February, Stoltenberg said": “Nato allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective, what is the issue now is to ensure that Ukraine prevail as a sovereign, independent nation, and therefore we need to support Ukraine.”
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China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that no country had the right to interfere in its relationship with Russia.
Reuters reports ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remark at a news briefing when asked to comment on the US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen saying that China’s “no limits” partnership with Russia indicated it was not serious about ending the war in Ukraine.
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Ukraine’s air defence has claimed to have downed eight Iranian-manufactured “Shahed” drones overnight. In its morning news round-up, Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, posted:
During the night air alert, the Russian military released 12 “Shahed” drones over Ukraine, eight of them shot down by air defence forces, the air force said.
At night in Poltava, the Russian army targeted a civilian infrastructure object, there is damage. There were no victims.
Also, during the night air alert, a hit to an infrastructure facility in Vinnytsia region was recorded.
Over the past day, two people were killed and three were injured due to Russian shelling in Kherson oblast.
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Agence France-Presse is today carrying an interview with Alla Trubacheva, who has lived in east Ukraine since she trained as a doctor more than four decades ago. The hospital where she worked has been shelled to ruin by Russian forces, but she remains a lifeline to hold-out residents in what’s left of Siversk’s population of 10,000.
The ailing come day and night to Trubacheva’s small office. “Headaches, sore throats, high blood pressure, stress, insomnia – you’ve got it all,” she told AFP’s reporters.
She recounted how one patient last year – one among around 200 that she keeps track of in a school exercise book – was struggling with a blocked trachea.
“I don’t want to congratulate myself too much, but if I hadn’t been there, he would have died,” she said, her hands folded on her lap. “We always need medicine, and we need it even more during times of war.”
She added: “There’s shelling here every day. The buildings were destroyed a long time ago.”
Trubacheva said she salvaged much from the shelled laboratory at the hospital after it was hit last summer, and an uptick in humanitarian support means her small office is well stocked.
She advises patients grappling with the stresses of war to leave. “Leave! If people come and say they can’t sleep or they feel bad, I tell them to leave,” she said, adding that many ignore the advice.
“People become attached to where they live, you see. It’s scary, but not everyone leaves.”
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Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that overnight Russian forces struck Bilopillia in the region three times. Citing the local authorities, it reports that there were no casualties.
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Less than two years ago, Object No 2, a gigantic bomb shelter built underneath Samara’s vast Kuybyshev Square, was being considered by Russian tourism officials as a museum site.
The original design and decor of the 1940s shelter, built on orders from Joseph Stalin about 40 metres underground with office furniture and other details from the pre-nuclear age, would have been a logical addition to the city’s subterranean attractions. As the Soviet Union’s reserve capital during the second world war, the city sits on top of a huge complex of underground bunkers, of which Object No 2 is thought to be one of the largest.
With the launch of the invasion of Ukraine and an order by Vladimir Putin to start civil defence preparation in regions across the country, thousands of Russian bomb shelters are being reviewed for refurbishment and renovation in the still unlikely – but for a while unthinkable – case of missile strikes on the Russian heartland.
For years, Samara’s bunkers, by some estimates the third most developed in Russia after Moscow and St Petersburg, have generated a cult following among the city’s urban historians and diggers, who illegally tunnel under the city, and have become the source of numerous urban legends:
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Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is set to begin a trip abroad on Saturday taking him through Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom.
DeSantis said in March that the Ukraine war is a “territorial dispute” and that it is not of strategic interest to the US, a position he has since partially walked back. Those comments provoked criticism from Democrats and many Republicans, though it is a stance he shares with about half of the party’s base as well as Republican former president Donald Trump.
So, while the trip is officially billed as a trade mission, the tour is widely seen as an attempt to burnish his foreign policy credentials in the lead-up to an official announcement, expected in the late spring or early summer.
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G7 considering near-total ban on exports to Russia
The G7 is considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing Japanese government sources.
Bloomberg news on Thursday also reported that the United States and Ukraine’s allies were considering “an outright ban on most exports to Russia”. That report said officials from G7 nations were discussing the idea before a summit meeting in Japan next month.
Asked about the Bloomberg report, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, said the government was aware of it but refrained from commenting on exchanges among G7 countries and like-minded nations about possible further sanctions against Russia.
“What is important for ending Russian aggression as soon as possible is that G7 remains united for severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine,” he told a press briefing.
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China says it is ‘not inflaming Ukraine situation’
China is not inflaming the situation in Ukraine, and advocates a peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, the Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, said on Friday.
China has no intention to engage in a major power competition, Qin said at the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, adding that it opposes attempts to build walls and barriers to interrupt international supply chains.
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Moscow accidentally strikes Russian city of Belgorod
A Russian warplane has accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, the Tass news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying.
Late on Thursday, local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. The regional governor said two women had been injured.
“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod there was an accidental discharge of aviation ammunition,” the defence ministry said, according to Tass.
Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announcing a state of emergency, said on Telegram there was a crater measuring 20 metres (65ft) across on one of the main streets. Four cars and four apartment buildings were damaged, he added.
The defence ministry did not say what kind of weapon was involved, Reuters reports. The Su-34 is a supersonic fighter-bomber jet. The ministry said some buildings had been damaged and announced an investigation was already under way, according to Tass.
Video footage from the site showed piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows. One shot showed what appeared to be a car upside down on the roof of a store.
The Belgorod region is one of several parts of southern Russia where targets such as fuel and ammunition stores have been rocked by explosions since the start of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.
Opening summary
Welcome back to our continuing live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Sullivan.
Our top story this morning: a Russian warplane has accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, the Tass news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying.
Elsewhere, the Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, has said China is not inflaming the situation in Ukraine, and advocates a peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue and diplomacy.
More on these stories shortly. In the meantime here are the other key recent developments in the war:
Ukraine’s future lies in Nato, the western military alliance’s chief said during his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion 14 months ago. Jens Stoltenberg pledged continued military support for Ukraine, saying: “Nato stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.” He invited the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to the Nato summit in Vilnius in July.
Zelenskiy said Nato needed to invite Ukraine to become a member and give it a timeframe for accession. “There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance,” he said. “And now, when most people in Nato countries and the majority of Ukrainians support Nato accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions.”
Zelenskiy has asked Mexico for its support to organise a summit with Latin American countries to help end the Russian invasion. The appeal on Thursday follows comments by the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who said in China last week that Washington should stop “encouraging” the war, and that the United States and the European Union “need to start talking about peace”.
The US president, Joe Biden, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, signalled efforts Thursday to ease tensions in the wake of the French leader’s recent remarks on Taiwan and the European security relationship with Washington. Referring to Macron’s push for China to play a role in forging a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, a statement from his office said: “China had a role to play in contributing, in the medium term, in ending the conflict in accordance with the principles and aims of the United Nations charter.” It also said: “The two heads of state agreed on the importance of continuing to engage Chinese authorities on this basis.”
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, will meet the UN secretary general, António Guterres, on Monday, according to Russia’s ambassador to the UN. The two last met at the G20 summit in Bali in November. According to ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, the Black Sea grain deal will be an item for the meeting on Monday.
Denmark, together with the Netherlands, is to donate 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Denmark’s acting defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said they were not Danish tanks, but tanks “which are bought in collaboration with the Netherlands”. The foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, described it as “a very significant contribution”.
The admiral of Russia’s Pacific fleet has left his position after a check of its combat readiness. Adm Sergei Avakyants left his post as commander as it was announced he will oversee a new centre for military sports training and “patriotic education”. Units from the Pacific fleet had been taking part in inspection exercises that were announced by the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, last week.
The Financial Times has reported that a leaked US intelligence report shows that China refused a request from the Wagner mercenary group for weapons. Wagner’s request in early 2023 suggested “it had some confidence Beijing would be open to arming Moscow, going beyond other non-lethal forms of support for the military campaign provided by Chinese companies”, according to the FT.
A group of Ukrainian servicemen have been accused of treason for giving away information during an unauthorised mission that enabled Russia to attack a military airfield, Ukraine’s SBU security agency said. The SBU announced in a statement that the servicemen had attempted, “without coordination with the relevant state authorities”, to seize a Russian plane last July after its pilot said he would defect.
The US and other allies of Ukraine are considering an outright ban on most exports to Russia in an attempt to increase economic pressure on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The report by Bloomberg says discussions are under way ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in May. It is thought that it will be followed by similar actions by EU member states.
The US announced $325m in new military aid for Ukraine, including additional ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), advanced missiles and anti-tank mines. It is the 36th security package since the war began in February 2022.
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